The long, dry California summer continues. So here is another image to recall the greens of spring. But the reminder of dry summers was all around me as you will read about below. No HDR!
Free wallpaper for over 100 of my images in 6 different screen sizes is now available!
I'm in the latest Nature's Best Photography magazine as a winner of the Ocean Views contest. Check it out on the news stands! Also, I'm in the Nature Conservancy calendar for 2010 and 2011!
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/389012171...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 17-40L @ 21 (fairly wide to get it all into the frame)
30-second exposure @F11
HOYA NDX-400 9.5-stop filter (Very dark) for the long exposure.
LEE soft ND grad (100x150mm) 0.9
Lee foundation kit filter holder with Lee 77mm adapter ring
No polarizer!
ISO 50
Small Slik tripod with Manfrotto Pistol-grip ball head.
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
Despite the popularity of Yosemite amongst photographers for over 100 years, it is still possible to see rarely-photographed views. And this is one of them. I've seen a few snapshots from near this spot but not with the view so open. That is because this view is blocked along this stretch of river as you can see by the trees on the right side of the river. However, of course I wanted to get the best view I could.
So, I had to climb out onto the burned out roots of a tree that extends out directly 15 feet above the river. Fires are common in Yosemite, in fact a big fire is burning right now but the LA fires are getting all the press. Large sections of the park are closed right now! Anyway, The root extended out far enough to see this entire scene free from branches. But I had to climb down a crumbly hill which dumps directly into the river and then scramble out onto this charcoal-covered root of a still-alive tree.
I almost didn't do this shot because it meant getting covered in black soot. And cameras and soot do not mix. So I had to be very careful. But I eventually made my way out and set up the tripod... just as a the dramatic layer of clouds decided to clear. Aargh! So I had to balance on this root for about 30 minutes until another cloud went sweeping by El Capitan. Once there was some decent light on the green tree to the left, I made a few images, of which this is the best one. I used a long exposure to show the sweeping movement of the cloud. A shorter exposure would have looked fine to capture the water movement so it was the cloud movement that made me use the long exposure.
The map shows exactly where this is. It is a short hike from the nearest road. But the road is one-way and there is no obvious place to pull over. If you miss your spot (well before the closest apparent spot on the map), you will have to drive all around the valley to get back! So drive slowly. And you still have to hike even from the closest spot.
See
my Flickr profile for a link to my newly designed website.
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